Daily Writer
By Alicia Sekhri
issues
A great book on story structure 📚
Turn & Burn: The Scriptwriter's Guide to Writing Better Screenplays Faster, by CJ WalleyI met CJ Walley on Stage 32, after asking a question along the lines of: "Is it impossible to break into Hollywood from Europe?" He was kind enough to share his experi…
✍️Newbie Screenwriters: Start a Freelance Writing Business
Why & How Newbie Screenwriters Should Start a Freelance Writing BusinessAs I already mentioned, I quit my job to pursue screenwriting almost a year ago. I wanted to give this a real shot and eventually find another career path. Here's what I learned: you …
Breaking Into the Industry: Jamey Perry's Advice
What was your biggest disappointment as a writer, and how did you rise above it?As a paraplegic, I was totally unprepared for the amount of ableism in the industry. Every path to breaking in is littered with obstacles for disabled writers, which is probably w…
Find Your Writers' Group
Find your writers' groupJennifer Dunn created a free app to help you find the right writers' group: it's called Notes Community.You can join an existing group or create your own.If you'd like to be part of an LGBTQ+ YA TV writers' group, consider joining mine…
Things You Don't Want to Miss
Hello! 👋I just started reading CJ Walley's book Turn & Burn. CJ broke into Hollywood from England and his story is really inspiring. I'm looking forward to sharing my takeaways with you next week. This week's roundup✨ NetflixIs Netflix on the decline? Acc…
Pursuing the Creative Life (and Thriving)
“Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert: a Book on Pursuing the Creative Life (and Thriving)If Big Magic was highly recommended by fellow creators, I must admit that I didn’t find it particularly enlightening. Not because the book was bad or I learned nothing from i…
Find Your Voice
HAPPY NEW YEAR!I hope 2022 brings you happiness, success, health, and love. Now, on to this week's selection of links:✨ Prepare for successThis wonderful Twitter thread details all the things writers need to have at hand to prepare for a successful career.🗓️ …
Rewriting Playbook
4 Paths to Success: Find Your OwnMake sure to read this interview of 4 screenwriters who have found success through 4 epic ways, available on Filmmaker Writes.Rewrite: Make Your Script GreatI recently finished Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger, which …
What are your 2022 writing goals? ✍️
“Fail to plan, plan to fail”Watching King Richard reminded me that you can achieve pretty much anything if you make a — realistic — plan and work hard enough to follow it. That’s what we are going to do today: make a realistic plan for you to follow in 2022 a…
What you need to know
14 tips from Stephen King’s book On Writing: A Memoir of the CraftHow to Create a Screenwriting Process That's Right for YouHow to Use Instagram’s Newest Features as a WriterWhat to do about a half-baked screenplay concept5 Unconventional Thanksgiving TV Epis…
For when you need a little support ❤️
Write what scares you“Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that isn’t comfortable. I dare you — in a world that entices us to browse through the lives of others to help us better determine how we feel about ourselves, and to in turn …
The Attitude Test
✨ Netflix Showrunners Form Writers Collective (Hollywood Reporter)Some of Netflix's most sought-after showrunners teamed up to create Magic Quill, a production company focused on "genre stories with emotion whose goal is to empower underrepresented and divers…
Collaborate 🎥
TV: The state of the horror genreHollywood Reporter released an amazing podcast episode for Halloween, featuring 5 showrunners discussing the state of the horror genre on the small screen. This roundtable discussion is about creating thrills and chills on a w…
Boost your creativity & get into your flow
Here's a podcast designed to put you into flow. The host uses the Pomodoro technique and, instead of "casual" breaks, reads passages of his favorite books.
The Best Screenwriting Podcasts 🎧
An IndieHacker created a tool that can help you create an interactive film or episode just like Black Mirror's Bandersnatch. How cool is that?! The tool is in its early version so the price is still affordable, and they have a free trial. Ian, a writer from y…
How to Write a TV Spec Script
#1 TV specs don’t sell anymore...When Friends was airing, you could write an episode on spec and hope to sell it to the producing team. This time is over. Very few TV spec scripts sell nowadays, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write one.In fact, as an asp…
Can You Replicate Squid Game's Success? 🦑
Why was it so successful?1) It's a highly marketable showSquid Game's concept isn't new: poor people competing to entertain others (The Hunger Games). Yet, the writer put a unique spin on it by making the story about money and children's games. The aesthetic …
📈 What's Trending #1
Reboots and shows based on existing IP are in high demand right now. Timothée Chalamet will play Willy Wonka in a new prequel of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, a film based on Roald Dahl's famous story. In 2018, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (a dark re…
☕ Pitch & Coffee: Pitch and Get Feedback for Free!
What is it?A virtual event for screenwriters to pitch their project in front of fellow screenwriters and get feedback from the room. It's a safe, encouraging environment to practice and make your pitch better.Each writer will get 5 minutes to pitch, and 5 min…
3 lessons learned from Save the Cat! Writes for TV
Lesson #1: Structuring your story using sticky notes tremendously helps. I hate outlining stories and usually stare at my screen for hours, writing-deleting-rewriting-redeleting until I just throw in the towel. Jamie Nash suggests using sticky notes -- or sim…